WATCH LIVE: Senate Votes On 'Audit The Fed' -- Sanders & Vitter Amendments @ 11:45 AM
Click to watch LIVE on C-Span >>
Updates are inside at the bottom of the story.
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Ron Paul has changed his mind and is now asking Senators to vote 'YES' on both the Sanders compromise amendment and David Vitter's version, which has the exact same language as the original Grayson-Paul House bill.
Paul is worried about support disintegrating along party lines and fears that neither amendment will pass as Republicans support Vitter and Democrats go with Sanders.
I am hurrying to get this story published. I will be adding links, video and comment from Ron Paul shortly.
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Ron Paul has backed off his intense initial criticism of the Sanders compromise on the audit the Fed amendment, saying that he supports passage of a measure that ensures “their sins of the past would be revealed and Americans would know more about who got bailed out by the Fed and under what terms.” He doesn’t think that goes far enough, however, and also endorses an amendment from David Vitter which includes the original Grayson-Paul audit language, above what he terms a “one-time disclosure.”
(It’s important to note that there is already language in the bill that would force disclosure of future emergency lending in a similar fashion. So while calling this a “one-time” audit diminishes its impact, it actually brings the prior lending during the crisis in line with the standard going forward, which encourages more transparency. Not to mention the fact that this disclosure, if it yields anything politically explosive, surely would not be the end of the fight, and would improve the chances for more explorations into the Fed’s activities and reform of their operations.)
Paul urged the passage of both the Sanders and the Vitter amendments, and Senators will get a chance to vote on them this morning. The vote is expected at 11:30am ET, with side-by-side votes of both amendments. This could hold some peril for both amendments if Republicans spurn the Sanders compromise and Democrats spurn the Grayson-Paul language. However, the fact that both will get a vote, and the fact that Paul endorsed both, leads me to believe that at least the Sanders measure will pass.
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William Greider: Outing The Fed (Greider wrote the bible on Fed secrecy)
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Ron Paul Backs Fed Audit Compromise (Ryan Grim)
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DailyBail
The Sanders amendment just passed 96-0. No one was willing to stand in front of this train.
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HOLD ON: The Sanders bill might have been modified again so that the audit would cover September 2008 and beyond. It was originally supposed to cover January 2008 and forward. So the Bear Stearns Maiden Lane transactions MIGHT have just escaped scrutiny. That would not be a positive development.
DailyBail
The Vitter amendment was just defeated soundly, 62-37. Still trying to determine if the Sanders amendment was changed to a September 2008 start.
Reader Comments (16)
http://www.thenewamerican.com/index.php/economy/economics-mainmenu-44/3526-trillion-bailout-of-euro-greece-shows-need-to-audit-the-fed
Ron Paul Says It's NOT Too Late To Call Your Senator; Sanders Wimps Out; Paul Backs the Vitter amendment
http://imarketnews.com/?q=node/13273
http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/05/11/audit-the-fed-amendment-expected-for-vote-this-morning/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/10/ron-paul-backs-fed-audit_n_570487.html
Wow...
It was supposed to be From JAnuary 2008 forward...
Was there another compromise...if so, Bear Stearns and MAiden Lane I just got exempted from the Audit...
It was supposed to be From JAnuary 2008 forward...
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C-SPAN must have assumed that the "crisis" started in September 2008.
It appears that the Sanders Amendment will authorize an audit of activity going back to December 1, 2007.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/11/judd-gregg-feds-biggest-d_n_571667.html
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-05-11/senate-approves-amendment-to-audit-the-fed-s-emergency-lending.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/12/business/12regulate.html?src=busln
I guess we will see what happens now.
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I have some calls out...i'm not so sure that C-Span made a mistake...the sanders' bill might have been amended again this morning before the vote...
YAY
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I'll assume that was sarcasm...